A novel optoelectronic serial-to-parallel converter for 25-Gb/s burst-mode optical packets

An optoelectronic serial-to-parallel converter is realized for the first time to interface 25-Gb/s asynchronous optical packets to CMOS. A single chip can interface either single or dual packets. The device exhibits a pattern-effect-free response and tolerance to trigger pulse energy. Dual 1:16 packet-conversion with a 640ps period is demonstrated.